Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Crab Battle

Gecarcinus ruricola

Allow me to set the scene. A few nights ago it really poured down throughout the evening, so much so that it actually woke me up a few times. 'Nothing out of the ordinary there' thought I, 'it's approaching the wet season here and we've been getting a bit of rain most days anyway.' How was I to know that the rain was to prove the harbinger of something far more sinister....

When I finally woke up to get ready for work and such, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed to be greeted by a startled crab, which appeared to have been assessing my shoes for (I assume) suitability for use in whatever diabolical plan it had in store for me. Upon realising the jig was up, the crab very quickly scuttled away onto one of the rocky pillars in my room. It stood there, glaring at me from its craggy lair while I composed myself and frantically searched for my camera in order to document the occasion. Unfortunately, while I managed to locate the camera, the crab took advantage of my momentary distraction to flee to an undisclosed location, where it bides its time, plotting its revenge.

I informed some of my co-workers at breakfast that day, whereupon I was informed that it's approaching 'crab season' in Jamaica and soon we'll be overrun with Gecarcinus ruricola. Apparently the hut that I'm staying in is the favourite location of these crabs as well, owing to a large rock that occupies the back of the hut, replete with numerous nooks and crannies for them to hide in.

The Crabs' Lair

The crab madness didn't stop there though. That evening, following my shower I went to put my towel back on my makeshift towel rack, to find out that number of hermit crabs had decided to claim it as their own. I've since discovered a number of hermit crabs call the rock at the back of my room home, where they clatter about incessantly. I haven't heard from Rustly Jim in a while now and I'm beginning to fear the worst.

One of the Hermit Crabs (apologies about the lack of focus)

Apart from the crustacean troubles, life has been continuing pretty well here. I'm getting to know a few of the people who live in the area around the resort and there's seems to be some kind of musical gathering every night of the week at the various bars in Boston. Last night we went out to have a few beers at what I can only describe as what I imagined every Jamaican dance party would be like. The DJ was set up with this massive homemade soundsystem, playing heaps of dub, reggae and dancehall and chatting in between every track, loads of 'Big up all ganajman' and 'This one fi de gyal dem' calls as well as frequent air horn samples. There were a couple of guys cooking up some jerk pork and chicken and everyone was just chilling and vibing out.

The rest of the week looks to be shaping up pretty nicely, we've got the roadblock party on Friday night, then I'm going SCUBA diving on Saturday. I've also decided to bite the bullet and take some surfing lessons, so I'm going to try and fit that in somewhere too. Until then I'll leave you with a track that a mate from Winchester had featured on XLR8R a week or so ago, it's a really nice chilled out number, perfect for a lazy afternoon.